I just took a plunge and sold my 08 unibody MacBook Pro and am using the cash to buy a 32gb iPad. I have no other computer (my iPhone is all), but plan on buying a new MacBook end of this year (read: waiting for refresh) I have everything backed up and media files synced to my roommates comp.

I will be using this as my sole computer. I will be using it mostly for content consumption with little content creation. I'll type documents here and there, want to stream movies (free if possible), need to print. I like designing, art, photos and the like too.

What tips would you have for me? Apps that I must have? Accessories that I must get? Games I must play?

And how exactly do you plan to activate, sync, and restore if need be without a computer running iTunes?

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You don't need to do any of that from a computer since iOS 5. When you turn it on, it walks you through everything and sets up iCloud (which is where backups would go to). And if they buy their media from iTunes, it can all be downloaded to the device or streamed.

I am in the same boat as you. I just sold my 2011 macbook air for the iPad. However I do have a low end windows 7 machine as a backup just incase. I don't think I will be using it at all. I hope to be only using my iPad from now on. The dictation software and dragon will work for my work flow instead of killing my hands on a keyboard.

You don't need to do any of that from a computer since iOS 5. When you turn it on, it walks you through everything and sets up iCloud (which is where backups would go to). And if they buy their media from iTunes, it can all be downloaded to the device or streamed.

@ OP; I'd definitely look at a keyboard case. Zagg has a really nice on especially. An Apple TV might be a good idea, too, since you can airplay stuff now from the iPad (if you have a larger HDTV, that is.) Good luck! For people who mostly consume media I think this is a great option.

I just took a plunge and sold my 08 unibody MacBook Pro and am using the cash to buy a 32gb iPad. I have no other computer (my iPhone is all), but plan on buying a new MacBook end of this year (read: waiting for refresh) I have everything backed up and media files synced to my roommates comp.

I will be using this as my sole computer. I will be using it mostly for content consumption with little content creation. I'll type documents here and there, want to stream movies (free if possible), need to print. I like designing, art, photos and the like too.

What tips would you have for me? Apps that I must have? Accessories that I must get? Games I must play?

Wow, brave new world type stuff. Here's my list of priorities below. For all those people wondering about syncing, you can sync via iCloud for Contacts, Calendar, Address Book, Bookmarks, Reminders, Notes, Photo stream, and Documents. So that should cover you for backup of your main data. To back up secondary data, music, etc.... you'll need an iTunes connect account if you have any stray MP3s that are not on iTunes. You can backup via iCloud and for your usage, it looks like that's about all you'll need server side.

1. iCloud account
2. iTunes account
3. Apps you'll want: Pages, Numbers, Keynote, iPhoto, iMovie, Garageband (if you like to create music), quickoffice HD, Skype, Facebook, Twitter, Nettalk for free calls in US and Canada, Google translate if you need translation, Voxer for PTT, Free WiFi Finder so you can find wifi access points, iBooks, Fusion Stream, Logmein Ignition (if you want to access other computers), Dropbox, yousendit (for large attachements via email), Audionote, Dragon Dictation, and Genius Scan so you can scan documents.
4. Other good apps/games: Navigon for GPS, Photosynth for photo stitching, Instagram, Flighttrack Pro for travel, Flightboard for travel, kayak for last minute flight booking, Living Earth for a great alarm clock/weather/world time, Airport utility if you use an Airport extreme or airport express, Comic Zeal if you like comics, Infinity Blade and Infinity Blade 2, Appzilla for multipurpose crap, Sketchbook Pro for the inner artist in you, Scan for barcode and QR scanning, and Netflix or some other streaming service if you really want movies subscription.
5. Invest in good peripherals such as a BT keyboard if you need a keyboard, a solid case or smart cover, and also Find my iPad.
6. Have fun!

I would really like to replace my MacBook Pro with an iPad. I used to work in a job where I used my personal MacBook Pro everyday, but now I rarely use it and most days don't even take it out of the bag.

The thing that is holding me back is the ability to create documents and such ... I'm thinking of getting a used/refurb iPad 2 and then if it fits the bill stepping up to a new one next time they are released ... That's my thought for now ... But, this post was somewhat encouraging

Kudos to the OP for taking a stance many would not dare to try (at least not yet). I'm interested to see how you do for the next few months as you wait for the refresh of the Macbook Pro/Air.

As far as accessories and apps go:

Printing: If you have an Apple compatible printer than you should be fine for your printing needs (as long as you have wifi in the house and AirPrint compatibility), if not than it would be good to invest in a popular app called Printopia, which allows for any type of printer connected to your wireless internet to print documents from your iPad.

Case: This is more or less of a personal preference, for me personally I am going to get one of Apple's Smart Covers.

Typing: Invest in a bluetooth keyboard. If you are looking to type more than half a page of text in some word processing app than definitely buy a bluetooth keyboard. You'll save more time by typing efficiently than touch typing inefficiently (this is not to say you can't get fast by touch typing, but it is just easier overall). If you're not going to type a lot than you will be fine without one.

Apps: For games I recommend the website toucharcade.com which lists a wide range of games as well as reviews on each one (for the casual and hardcore gamers alike). As for productivity and social, a good Google search will pull up lots of information about any apps you are possibly looking into.

Uh huh, just couple days ago I tried (so hard) to update my iPhone from 5.0.1 to 5.1 via Software Update menu on iPhone Settings. And after 3 days of waiting (thinking it was a server outage due to initial demand) I only get "Failed to Check Update ... Cancel/Try Again?" message.

In the end I just have to download the full sized ipsw from my Mac, and update it the old way, via iTunes and it went fine. So much for having Software Update menu on my iPhone.

Theoretically iOS 5 unplug your iDevice from your computer, but there are times when you just can't do things right on this unplugged iOS. Some errors cannot be fixed unless you plug it back to iTunes. You can't import music/movies/books to your iPhone without computer, unless they were bought on iTunes or synced to *cough*5GB* free iCloud.

No matter what, iOS still too much dependant, it's still a mobile OS, it's still a Pod and you still need to plug it to your computer once in a while. Yeah iOS 5 give a slight chance for your iDevice to be completely unplugged, but life would feel so much harder that way.

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